And Then We Found Each Other
by palomagirl
Summary: AU, Kim moves to La Push and meets her mysterious and handsome neighbor, Jared.
1. Chapter 1

As I pulled into the parking lot, I felt relief. Finally, I was on my own. I didn't have to answer to anyone's rules anymore, and I didn't have to take all of the bullshit that my parents had inflicted on me throughout the years. I was away from them and their influence. I, Kimberley Connweller, was living on my own. Fully supporting myself, and making my own decisions. I had just moved from Monterey, California to La Push, Washington. I know, it seems like a stupid idea to move from sunny Cali to rainy Washington. But I needed to get away from California; to me, it wasn't the happy, sunny, beautiful place that everyone else regarded it as. So I moved up to La Push, where my Aunt Kenna and Uncle Rob lived. My family was of Quileute descent, so it was no problem for me to move up to La Push. Kenna and Rob offered to let me use their guest room, but I didn't want to live under anyone else's roof again. I wanted to be my own person for once, and not have to answer to anyone else. After doing a bit of online research and with help from Kenna, I was able to rent a small one bedroom apartment that was on the edge of town. The best part of the place was that it faced the ocean; that was one part of Monterey that I did not want to give up. The owner told my Aunt that the apartment was quiet; there were only five other buildings in the place, and all of the other tenants were well behaved. I wired Kenna the money for the first month's rent and the deposit, and within a few days, the place was mine. All I had to do was tell my parents that I was moving, pack my belongings into my Ford Escape, and leave for La Push. Even though I grew up in Monterey, I didn't have a lot of friends there. Most of my high school friends moved away to go to college, which they had been at for a year now. I did a year of community college, and decided that there was something more for me out there. I was not going to be tied down and forever a Monterey citizen; I needed to see some new scenery.

And that's how I got to where I am today. Pulling into the parking lot of Summit Pines, my new apartment complex. I was supposed to meet my landlord at 4, pick up the keys, and then start moving in to my new apartment. As I parked my car, I noticed an older lady walking towards me. I got out of my car as she walked up to me.

"You must be Kimberley," she said, extending her hand. I shook her hand and nodded.

"Yes, I am!" I answered, smiling.

"Oh, good," she replied, "Well, I'm Marian, your landlord. How was the drive?"

"Pretty good," I replied, "I'm definitely glad to be here, though."

"I bet," she said, "Let me show you your apartment so you can start unpacking." I followed her to apartment #5, which was on the end.

"As you can see," Marian said, "These apartments are all built separately, not in one long line. I know people prefer these types of apartments, since you're not sharing walls with anyone else."

"I saw the layout online," I answered, "But I do really like how they're separate."

"Yes, people do seem to like these more than the others," She took a key out of her pocket, opened the front door, and led me inside.

"Oh, it's so cute!" I squealed. Marian laughed.

"I'm glad you like it," she said, "I know it's a little small, but luckily you're the only one here. The guy over in #4 seems to always have people staying at his house…"

"Don't worry, I love it. I cannot wait to start unpacking!" I told her.

"Well, let me just get out of your hair then. I'm giving you two keys, and there are mailboxes out front. Just make sure to swing by the post office and get your name registered. Other than that, rent is due by the first of each month."

"Thank you," I replied.

"No problem, sweetie. Oh! There's also a path right over there," she pointed at a spot between two pine trees, "That goes down to the beach. It's for public use, so don't freak out if you see random people on the path."

"That shouldn't be a problem," I said. We shook hands again and Marian left, wishing me luck. Before I brought my stuff inside, I walked around my empty apartment, drinking it in. It was so perfect. The ceiling and walls were made of wooden planks, and the floor was this deep green carpet. You walked directly into the living room, with a small kitchen on the right side and the door to the bedroom directly in front of me. The bedroom was small, but I loved the way it was built. There was a shelf on one wall, and a built in closet on the same side as the door. In the right corner was the door to the bathroom.

I walked outside and called my aunt, and she told me that she would be over in a few minutes to help me unpack. When she showed up, I ran to her and hugged her.

"Aunt Kenna, I missed you so much," I said, trying not to cry.

"Kimberley," she said, rubbing my back, "I missed you too. I'm so glad you're here." I always liked my Aunt Kenna, sometimes more than I liked my mom. My mom was always more judgmental and rude than Kenna.

"How's Leann?" Kenna asked.

"Mom's good," I said.

"Still fighting with Mike?"

"As always," I replied, "Does anything between them ever change?"

"Nope," Kenna replied, "They were nicer when you were born but then they just went back to their old ways. Believe me, I can see why you left." I nodded. I always talked to Kenna whenever things between my mom and I got bad.

"Okay, enough of the heavy," Kenna said, "Let's get you moved in!" We spent the next few hours unpacking all of my stuff, which didn't fill up much of the apartment. The only furniture that I was able to bring was a bed, which didn't even have a frame. When we had unloaded my car, Kenna looked around disapprovingly.

"Honey, your parents didn't give you anything to bring, furniture-wise?" I shook my head.

"Nope. They barely even said goodbye to me." Kenna shook her head.

"Alright. Well, your uncle should be home from work soon. I should probably go home and get him, then we'll come back and get you more settled."

"Kenna, don't worry about it," I said, "I can take care of myself tonight."

"We'll see," Kenna replied. I hugged her goodbye and went into my apartment. Suddenly, I felt lonely. I had never been alone before…not like this. Not in the middle of the forest, surrounded by nothing but trees. I looked at my cell phone and saw that it was almost seven at night. I knew I needed food, but I didn't want to go out and find some. So I decided to unpack my box of books, and set them up on the shelf in the room. I had put about four books on the shelf when I heard a knock at the door. I went to open the door and saw Kenna standing there, smiling.

"So, I know that we already unpacked your house," she said, "But that was just the beginning. Now, the real moving in begins!" She pointed towards her truck, and I saw that it was loaded with furniture.

"Aunt Kenna," I started,

"Nope, Kim," she replied, "This is something that I'm doing for you. And Rob is on his way with some more stuff, and dinner. And do not give me any crap about it." I nodded and started crying. "Oh, sweetie," she said, rubbing my back. I was so happy to have someone that actually cared about me. A few minutes later, Rob showed up, and we got everything else moved in. I now had a couch, an armchair, a bedframe, a desk, and a bookcase. My apartment officially looked like a home. We all sat in the living room and ate the dinner that Aunt Kenna brought, which was chicken, potatoes, and a salad.

"Aunt Kenna, that was delicious," I said.

"Thank you, Kim," Kenna said, "But we should probably be going, since it's almost 10."

"Of course," I said. I walked them out to their car and said goodnight to them. As they drove away, I noticed a few cars pull into the parking lot. A bunch of guys (hot guys, I might add,) got out of the cars and walked up to the apartment next to mine. As I walked back to my apartment, I could feel them looking at me.

"Who's that?" one of them asked.

"No idea," another guy answered, "I think she just moved in." I ignored them and walked into my house. I put all of my books onto my bookcase, and started putting my clothes in the closet. Later, I heard a knock at the door. I looked through the window and recognized one of the guys from earlier. I opened the door, and was amazed by how tall he was.

"Hey," he said, smiling, "I'm Paul,"

"I'm Kim," I replied, shaking his hand, "I just moved in this afternoon."

"Ahh, I thought I hadn't seen you before," he said, "I think I'd remember a face like yours." I blushed.

"Can I help you with anything, Paul?"

"Actually, yes," Paul replied, "My friend, actually, your neighbor, Jared, is having a party next door. I wanted to let you know…you can come over if you want. Just please don't be annoyedby the noise. I mean, we shouldn't be too loud but still."

"Oh, of course," I said, "I've thrown quite a few parties in my day…I would never complain about yours."

"Thank you," Paul said, "And remember, stop by if you want. It was nice meeting you." I waved goodbye and went back inside. I fidgeted around my house for a few minutes, before deciding to go over to the party. I'm not a timid girl, I can be very outspoken at times. I went into my room and went through my closet, trying to find something appropriate for the party. Since it was pretty cold and starting to rain, I chose a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark red sweater. I paired it with a black scarf and brown boots, and walked over to the neighbor's house. I knocked on the door and a guy answered the door.

"Hey, I'm Kim," I said, looking at him in the eyes. When our eyes met, his eyes widened.

"I-I'm….Jared…" he said, looking shocked.


	2. Chapter 2

**So apparently it's a tradition for me to never to do an author's note on the first chapter...I always forget! But anyways, welcome to the story. And if you've gotten this far, thank you and you're beautiful. I honestly have no idea where this story is going to go or anything like that. But we shall see! If you can, review. Thank you!**

Jared stood there, staring at me for a good minute or two, until the guy that had introduced himself to me earlier came to the door.

"Kim!" he said, smiling, "Jared, this is Kim. I met her earlier, she's your neighbor. Jared?" He noticed that Jared wasn't saying anything. He waved his hand in front of Jared's face and then stopped. "Oh, shit," he said, "Jared. Come on. Inside, now." Jared looked at him, and then back at me. "Now, Jared," Paul said impatiently. Paul walked back inside of the house and Jared followed. _Weird shit_, I thought. I decided to go into the house anyways, and at least try to make some friends. Jared's apartment was the same size as mine, but his was packed with people. A lot of the guys looked…similar to Paul and Jared, with their tan, muscled skin and their cropped black hair. Another thing: there were almost no girls there. People were staring at me, trying to figure out who the strange girl was. They made me feel so awkward that I was turning to leave when Paul walked up to me.

"Hey, Kim," he said, hugging me.

"Paul," I said, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," Paul said, beating around the bush.

"Paul. What happened with Jared?" I asked impatiently.

"N-nothing," Paul said, "He was just feeling under the weather."

"Whatever," I replied, "It didn't seem that way. But it's been a long day…I'm going to head home. Have a great night." With that, I turned around and walked away. Yes, that probably seemed a little bit rude, but I couldn't take those guys anymore. I walked back to my house, locked my door and went into my bedroom. Since I was still too jittery from the party, I decided to curl up in bed with a book. I decided to read the last Harry Potter book, since it was one of my favorite books…even though I'm 19. But hey, we all have our guilty pleasures. I fell asleep an hour later, dreaming of the forest, wizards, and the ocean.

I woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated. I already liked being on my own; compared to being with my parents, this was a walk in the park. Since I was an only child, my parents always projected their feelings and problems towards me. So if it isn't obvious enough already, my childhood wasn't pleasant. I knew that I needed to leave, and I needed to be far away from them. I didn't steal money from them or anything; I saved up my money and got everything done on my own. Aunt Kenna helped me find a place, but everything monetary related came from me. I didn't leave a lot behind in Monterey; I had one good friend, Rae, but she moved to Southern California for school and decided to stay down there for good. She supported my decision to move out, even though it meant that we would probably not see each other again.

I was woken out of my reverie by my cell phone, which currently blasted the ringtone "I Love It". Okay, so I might not be the most preppy girl around, but I do appreciate some of the more popular music. I answered my phone, which said that Rae was calling me.

"Rae!" I yelled.

"Kim, girl!" she replied

"How are you?"

"I'm doing great, actually," she said, "I met someone…" I shrieked.

"WHO?!"

"His name is Todd," she replied, "He lives in the same apartment complex as me, and we met the other night!"

"Rae, I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed.

"Thank you! So…how is La Push?" She asked.

"It's awesome so far," I replied, "I mean, it's raining, but it's green and beautiful."

"Yeah?" she asked, "Have you met any people yet?"

"I met a few guys last night," I said.

"Ooooh, details!" Rae squealed.

"Well this guy that lives next to me was having some sort of party, and his friend Paul came over and introduced himself and invited me to the party. And then I met the guy that lives there, Jared. Except, when I introduced myself to him, he went into this trance or something…he just like stared at me and couldn't say anything."

"That's weird," Rae replied, "But maybe he was too impressed by your hotness!" I rolled my eyes. We talked for a few more minutes, until Todd showed up at Rae's house. I said goodbye to her, and hung up the phone. I decided to run to the store while it was still early, so that I would have time to make myself something good for dinner. I knew that there were a few towns near La Push, ones that probably had big name grocery stores, but I decided to just go to the La Push general store and see what they had there. I googled directions on my phone and set off in my car, arriving at the store within ten minutes. I sighed when I saw how small the store was, but then scolded myself for getting my hopes up; honestly, in a town this small, I should not have been surprised. Walking in, I noticed that this was the kind of store that locals visited to just hang out. Grocery store-wise, there wasn't a lot. Dry stuff, mostly. Considering that I liked to make everything fresh and from scratch, I was disappointed. One of the ladies noticed my unhappy expression and walked over to me.

"Lacking, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah…I like to make my food from scratch…I'm not much of a "from the box" person," I answered.

"Me, either," she replied, "I usually get my meat from the grocery store in Forks, and get my vegetables from one of the locals…speaking of locals, I don't think I've met you?"

"Oh, I'm Kim," I replied, "I actually just moved here yesterday. My Aunt Kenna Connweller lives here…she helped me find a place."

"Oh, I know Kenna!" she replied, "We used to be in a book club together. Anyways, if you're interested, my sister-in-law has a garden…I can send you over there to get some fresh vegetables if you want."

"That'd be great!" I replied, "But won't it be weird if I just show up there?"

"No, of course not," she said, "In La Push, we're like a family. Plus I'll call her and give her a heads up. By the way, I'm Lacey." She gave me directions to her sister-in-law Rachel's house. I bought an Arizona Iced Tea for the road and left, following Lacey's directions. I pulled up to Rachel's house a few minutes later (it was amazing how close everything was!) and as I parked my car I saw a woman walk out of the house. She had long black hair and russet colored skin. She was tall and slender, and walked gracefully. As I got out of the car, I heard her say, "You must be Kim!"

"I am," I replied, smiling, "And you must be Rachel?"

"I must be," she said, "So you want some fresh vegetables?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I went by the store and was a little…disappointed by their selection. I like my veggies."

"So do I," she replied, "A lot of people around here do, too. But everyone got tired of driving to Forks for mediocre vegetables, so a few of us decided to start growing our own. I have a pretty big garden, since I feed a lot of the neighbors. But I always have some to spare."

"That's great," I said, "I would love some fresh veggies in my house."

"Then take what you want," Rachel said, "Follow me, the garden's in the back." We walked around the house to the backyard, which had a very large vegetable garden. I could see almost every summer vegetable known to man. "Do you have anything to put the veggies in?" Rachel asked me.

"Yeah, I have some bags in my car, let me go grab them." I went to go grab the bags, and when I came back I saw Rachel hugging some guy.

"Oh, Kim, this is my husband, Paul!" The guy turned around, and sure enough, it was Paul from the party.

"Kim?" he said, surprised.

"Yeah…hey..?" I said, unsure. Rachel looked at us.

"Wait, you two know each other?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I met her at Jared's party last night," He explained.

"WAIT. THAT'S HER?!" Rachel yelled.

"Rachel!" Paul admonished. She looked surprised, her eyes wide.

"I'm so confused," I replied, "I'm just here to get vegetables."

"This is weird," Rachel whispered. Paul nodded.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" I asked, borderline hysterically.

"Nothing," Paul stammered, "I just told Rachel about the new girl."

"No, no," I argued, "There is something else going on."

"I-I just know your Aunt Kenna," Rachel said, "She's friends with my dad. I'm just surprised that you showed up here, of all places." Personally, I didn't believe her. But I decided to drop the subject so that I could get my vegetables and get away from these crazy people.

"Oh, alright," I said, smiling, "I thought that something weird was going on for a second. But hey, I told my aunt that I'd have lunch with her today…so is it alright if I get the vegetables real quick?"

"Of course," Rachel said, somewhat shocked; she probably didn't think that I would actually believe her, "Pick whatever you want." I filled two grocery bags with vegetables, taking a variety of different types. I could hear Rachel and Paul whispering behind me, but I decided to just fake ignorance. When I had finished, I said goodbye to Paul and Rachel and left for my apartment. When I got home, I noticed that Jared wasn't hope. For some reason, I was a little sad. But then I thought, _Why do I care?_ I got inside and put away the vegetables, trying to figure out some sort of organizational system for the refrigerator. Right as I finished, I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, I saw Jared standing there.

"Jared?" I asked, confused, "What are you doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello there! Sorry for the long wait. Like I said, I have a somewhat crazy life. Two jobs, boyfriend, etc. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter. It's cute, then...sensual (warning: smut/lemon!..well, kind of) and then heavy. but it ends in a nice way so enjoy and pleeease review. **

"Hi…Jared," I said uncertainly. What was this man doing at my door?

"How are you doing today?" Jared asked me, staring at me as if I was the most interesting person in the world.

"I'm…good?" I replied, "Um, Jared? Why are you here?"

"Well, I realized how weird last night must have seemed to you," Jared said, looking at the ground, "And I really can't explain what happened. But I did want to apologize."

"Don't worry about it," I replied, "It's not the big of a deal."

"Cool," he said, smiling. _God, his smile was beautiful._ "Anyways…I guess that this might seem weird, but I was wondering, would you maybe want to go catch a movie and go out to eat tonight?" My heart fluttered. Normally, I wouldn't say yes to this type of proposal. I tried to avoid guys at all costs and I liked to think that I was more aware of guys' intentions than most girls. But something about Jared…some part of me was drawn to him. And I had no choice but to say yes. There was no other option.

"I would love that, Jared," I said, smiling, "What time works for you?"

"Can I pick you up at 7?" he asked nervously, but with that adorable smile still plastered on his face.

"Of course," I replied, "I'll be ready at 7."

After Jared left, I let out a small squeal, which surprised me. I didn't even know that I was drawn to this guy. I mean, yeah, I had thought about him all day, but still. Why was I so excited? Instead of dwelling on it, I decided to start getting ready. It was almost 4, but I wanted plenty of time to achieve that "I look like I'm not trying hard but I am" look. I decided to loosely curl my hair and put on a little bit of makeup. For clothes, I decided on a flowy grey shirt with black jeans. Simple yet flattering, as I liked to think. I paired that with brown boots and a black scarf. Just as I finished tying the scarf, I heard a knock at the door. Again, my heart fluttered. I knew that I couldn't have a thing for Jared…I mean, it had only been, what, a day since I'd moved in? But I still felt something for him. Something….strong. I opened the door, finding Jared standing there looking very…dapper. He had on dark jeans and a black button down shirts. His hair was a little wet and hanging down in his eyes. Speaking of his eyes…they were scanning my body, and when they met mine, the hungry look in them took me by surprise.

"Kim, you look beautiful," he told me, never breaking his stare from mine.

"T-thank you," I replied, "You look pretty handsome yourself." He smiled at that.

"Well, should we get going? I figured that we could do dinner first and then catch a movie after?"

"Sounds good to me," I replied. We left my house and he walked me over to his car, holding the door open for me and everything. He was obviously nervous, which made him even cuter.

Our date that night was wonderful. Dinner was amazing, and the movie was great as well. But the entire night, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen when we got home. Would we go to our separate apartments? Or would we just stay in one? When we pulled into the parking lot, I looked at Jared out of the corner of my eye, to see what he would do, only to find him staring at me. He wanted me to make the decision? Fine.

"Do you want to come over to my place?" I asked, "I don't have much in the way of food or entertainment, but I'm sure we can figure something out…"

"Yeah," Jared said, "I'd love to." We got out of the car and he grabbed my hand as we walked towards my place. He'd been holding my hand all night and I can't say that I objected. I wanted to be close to him, and it seemed that there was some sort of pain in my heart whenever he wasn't near me. I had decided not to dwell on it, since I didn't really want to address my feelings for Jared just yet. I opened the door for us and let him inside the house, giving him a quick tour. We went back into the living room, sat down on the couch, and talked for a while. After an hour or so had passed, I went to go to the bathroom. When I was done, I went back into the living room and found Jared laying down on the couch. I walked up next to him, and asked, "Comfortable?"

"Hmm…" he said, smirking. Next thing I knew he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me down so that I was on top of him. "Now I am," he said.

"Oh, I bet you are," I replied, winking. I brushed my hair out of my face and looked down at him. He was looking at me intently, as if he was waiting to see what I was going to do. To answer him, I simply winked, then leaned down and kissed him. He grabbed my hair and pulled me down to him, moaning when I opened my mouth so that he could play around with his tongue. I pulled away, internally laughing at the sad look on his face. Without saying anything, I turned around, walked into the bedroom, and lay down on my bed. I heard him get off of the couch and follow me into my room. He seemed to study me for a second, but before he could do anything I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him on top of me. We made out for a while, rolling around on the bed, getting all tangled up in each other. I ripped off his shirt and spent a few seconds admiring his toned abs. He started to pull up my shirt, and spent time kissing all of my exposed skin. Once he got my shirt off, he started playing with my bra, pushing my boobs up and kissing them. I lifted my torso off of the bed a little so that he could undo my bra, and when he got it off he just stared at me for a second.

"Holy shit…." He mumbled, "Your boobs…" Now, I'll admit that my boobs are pretty damn good looking. They aren't huge, but they aren't small, either. I simply looked up at him and whispered, "Come and get it…" He bent down and started kissing my boobs, licking them, giving them all kinds of attention. I squirmed and moaned, loving the feeling of my boobs being touched. He then kissed his way down my body and took off my pants, leaving me in just my underwear. He started kissing me through my underwear, making me moan even more.

"You like that, don't you?" he said, looking up at me. I couldn't answer him; I just nodded my head. He kissed his way back up my body and looked me in the eyes. "Kim…do you want me to go any further? Because we can stop."

"I-I don't know," I replied shakily, "I want to but I've never gone this far before. I mean, I want you. Like, REALLY want you. But…we just met."

"Hey, Kim, I understand," Jared replied, "It's fine. We can wait." He moved so that he was sitting next to me and put his arm around me. "Listen, Kim. I know, like you said, we just met. But…I have feelings for you. I really like you." After he said that, he looked down, almost as if he was…shy.

"Jared, I…I know that this probably seems weird, but I have feelings for you too. I mean, I moved here yesterday. Yesterday, for goodness sake. But I feel as if I've lived here forever when I'm with you. Like…this is where I belong." At that, he looked up at me and smiled.

"I can't ask you to be anything more right now," he replied, "But will you at least consider dating me? We can take it slow, I promise."

"I would like that," I replied, "I really would." I leaned over and kissed him, keeping it short and sweet. Now, I know that this isn't how a normal relationship works. But…anything with Jared seemed the right choice.

"So, Kimberley Connweller, tell me about yourself," Jared said, smiling, "I want to know all there is to know about you."

"Well, I moved here yesterday," I said, smiling, "From Monterey…you know, California."

"Oh, really, because I had no idea where Monterey was!" Jared said, mocking me. I jokingly smacked him on the arm, and was surprised that it hurt me instead of the other way around.

"Whatever, smartass," I said, laughing, "I lived there with my parents, but I had spent a few summers up here with my aunt Kenna. At some point, I decided that living up here seemed like a better idea than living in Monterey. I only had one really good friend there, and I wasn't close with my parents. So basically, I had nothing holding me there. Ever since I was little, I knew that I wouldn't spend more time there than I needed to. I did a year of community college, but decided that that was not what I wanted to do with my life. So, with the help of my Aunt Kenna, and no help from my parents, I moved here."

"So I take it that your parents weren't very supportive?" He asked.

"My parents weren't good parents," I replied, "They always seemed to care more about themselves. I basically grew up alone, I had to learn how to take care of myself at an early age."

"Why would they let that happen to you?" He asked, looking shocked.

"My mom liked her alcohol. And my dad liked his women," I said, looking down. I rarely talked about this part of my life. "My mom knows that my dad cheated on her for most of their marriage, but she never wanted to leave him. Kenna said that it was because of me but I think that my mom hoped that he would change someday."

"And did he?" Jared asked quietly.

"No. No, he didn't. He still has his mistresses, and my mom still acts as though nothing is happening."

"Did they ever fight?" he asked me.

"Oh yeah, all of the time," I replied, "They would fight, and then bring me into it. Next thing I knew, we would all be yelling at each other. It was horrible. I was very angry growing up. I had all of this pent up aggression and had nowhere to direct it. I got in a few fights in high school, and whenever my mom would find out, she'd just blame my dad, and vice versa. I got tired of the constant negativity. And being away from them…being here…it's already done wonders for me. I feel peaceful. Happy, even."

"Kim…I wish I knew how to respond to that," Jared murmured, "I mean, all I really can say is that you didn't deserve that. And I hope that you never have to go through anything like that again. And I can promise you that your life will not turn out like theirs."

"I wish that there was a way that I could be sure of it," I replied, "I mean, the reason why I never dated anyone in high school was because I was afraid of relationships. After seeing my parents, I didn't have much hope."

"But do you now?" He asked hopefully.

"I…I think I do."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the lack of updating...my work schedule has been insane. But here you go...this chapter is pretty long but it's all in Jared's POV. I thought that that would be fun since I almost always write in the female's POV. But yeah. Anyways. Enjoy and review please. :)**

From the moment that I first phased into a wolf, I knew that my life had changed. I wasn't the Jared that I used to be; I wasn't the same person anymore. But the question was…who was I?

Before I met Kimberley Connweller, I had been able to phase into a wolf for about one year. I didn't have some sad sob story like the other guys; I felt weird one day, and went for a walk in the woods. Luckily I was completely isolated when I phased. Okay, so I sound super cool about it but really I was scared shitless. Sam was there almost immediately, trying to help me and calm me down. I immediately bonded with the other guys, which I was told was a given. In this world, we didn't have a lot of people to depend on or people to talk to. Our brothers were the only guys we could depend on. I had phased when I was in high school, but luckily it was towards the end of my senior year. I spent what time I had left with the guys, and not really paying attention to much else. I hadn't even been with any girl-in the sexual sense, anyways. I'd dated a few girls here and there, but nothing too serious. And then after phasing, there was no chance of dating again. What if I lost control? What if I imprinted? And that was another problem. After hearing Sam's story, I knew that I never wanted to do that to anyone; no girl deserved that. My family life wasn't bad; I grew up with both of my parents, and they had a happy marriage. They rarely fought, and they seemed to love each other 100% of the time. They were the reason why I have always respected women; why would you mistreat the person that brings you happiness? It just never made sense to me.

They day I met Kim started like any other. I had the morning patrol, and then decided to invite the guys over to my house that night for a party. I lived in an apartment complex on the edge of town, where the apartments were separated from each other. My neighbors never complained, since they knew all of us. We always kept the noise down, and made sure to be polite to the other neighbors. The last apartment had been empty for a while, but there were rumors floating around that one of the ladies in town had a niece moving in soon. I didn't think twice about it, but the idea of her being my imprint had never crossed my mind. I was in the house, getting food and stuff ready, when Paul ran in.

"Dude, Jared, I just met the girl next door!"

"What?" I asked, my mouth full of food. Okay, so I was eating the food, not getting it ready.

"Your new neighbor," Paul explained, "She just moved in today. Anyways, I invited her over."

"Paul, you can't just invite some random girl to my house!" I said, exasperated.

"Why not?" he asked confusedly, "I was being polite!"

"Dude, it's her first day in town. I doubt that she's going to go to some random guy's party," I explained.

"I don't know, man," Paul said, running his hand through his hair, "This one…is different." I shrugged it off, and continued stuffing my face until Paul pushed me away from the refrigerator. For some reason, I felt the need to go to the left side of my house. I walked to the end of my house, trying to figure out why I felt the need to go there. After a few minutes I gave up, trying to ignore the pull. A few minutes later the guys started arriving, and we got music playing and the video game systems set up. There were only about twelve guys there, and ten of them were from the pack. The pack now consisted of me, Paul, Embry, Quil, Brady, Seth, Leah, Collin, Sam, Jake, Cam, and Kyle. Sam and Leah weren't at the party, but the guys had brought a few girls over as well. An hour or so into the party, a heard a knock at the door. I opened it and saw the most beautiful girl in the world. I would later learn that her name was Kim, but right now I referred to her as "the most beautiful girl in the world". All I knew was that nothing mattered anymore. All that mattered was her…she was the only thing holding me to the earth now. I vaguely heard her introduce herself, and I was perfectly fine with simply staring at her. That is, until Paul came up, exclaiming that this was the girl that lived in the apartment next to me. A second later, he realized what had happened. He dragged me away from the door and into the back yard, leaving her at the door. I felt pain…I didn't like being far away from her. Away from my imprint. When we got into the backyard, Paul slapped me on the back, waking me from my trance.

"Dude, you just fuckin' imprinted!" he yelled, smiling.

"She…her…love…mine…" I muttered, not being able to make sense of my words. Paul just laughed.

"So what are you going to tell her?"

"Tell…her?" I asked uncertainly. Didn't she already know?

"Jared, dude, she doesn't know. She doesn't know about the imprinting, she doesn't know about you being a wolf. You're going to have to tell her."

"I can do that," I said, and turned around to go into the house and tell her. Paul stopped me immediately.

"Jared! Are you fuckin' psycho? You can't just go in there and say 'Hey Kim, I'm Jared. I'm a wolf and oh, guess what, you're my imprint which means we're going to be together forever. That cool?' She'll think you're a fuckin' lunatic." This made sense to me, I realized. I needed to start small. "Start with a date, man," Paul continued, "Make her like you. Then start to get her used to everything. Anyways, you stay out here. She knows me so let me go clear things up real quick." I nodded, watching him go inside. I stood out there for about ten minutes until Paul came back, looking defeated. "Damn, man. She knows something's up. She talked to me and then turned around and left." My shoulders slumped down. "Listen, go enjoy the party. We'll come up with a plan tomorrow." I agreed, and spent the night having fun with the guys, trying to ignore the pull I felt…the pull that I realized was coming from her house.

The next day, I had morning patrol again. All of the guys laughed when Paul replayed the events from the night before, but he stopped when I barked at him, reminding him what happened when he imprinted on Rachel. That, of course, irritated Jake, and his unhappiness effected all of us. So, to say the least, it wasn't a good morning. Paul left, then came back about thirty minutes later, exclaiming that Kim had gone to Rachel's to get vegetables, when he showed up. Rachel, who was aware of the new imprint, didn't realize that it was her until Paul said something. He said that they almost gave it away but then covered it up…a façade that Kim seemed to believe. I asked what she said she was going to be doing later in the day, and Paul said that she had said something about lunch with her aunt. After I phased back I went over to Emily and Sam's, deciding to grab some food before heading home.

"Hey, Em!" I yelled when I got into the house.

"Jared!" she squealed, running up and hugging me, "I heard about your imprint!" I smiled.

"Yeah, she's amazing," I murmured, blushing a little. Emily sighed happily.

"Aw, I'm so happy for you!" she said, hugging me again. She gave me some food and sent me on my way, telling me to "go get her". When I got home I saw her car in the driveway and knew she was home. I went to my house, put on some nice clothes, trying to make myself look presentable, and went over to Kim's. I knocked on her door, and relishing the look of surprise on her face when she saw me.

"Jared?" she asked, confused, "What are you doing here?"

"How are you doing today?" I asked her, thinking that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

"I'm…good?" she replied, "Um, Jared? Why are you here?"

"Well, I realized how weird last night must have seemed to you," I said, looking at the ground, "And I really can't explain what happened. But I did want to apologize."

"Don't worry about it," she replied, "It's not that big of a deal."

"Cool," I said, smiling. "Anyways…I guess that this might seem weird, but I was wondering, would you maybe want to go catch a movie and go out to eat tonight?" Lord, this was nervewracking. What if she said no? Was she disgusted by me?

"I would love that, Jared," she said, smiling, "What time works for you?"

"Can I pick you up at 7?" I asked nervously.

"Of course," she replied, "I'll be ready at 7." I left her house and went back to mine, walking straight into my bedroom.

"Well, you look happy," Paul remarked.

"HOLY SHIT PAUL," I yelled, "DON'T FUCKING DO THAT!" He laughed, while I was certain that I was having a heart attack.

"Dude, you kill vampire for a living, and you get scared because I'm in your house?" He asked tauntingly.

"Yes, yes I did get scared by you," I replied, "But dude. I have a date with Kim."

"Way to go!" Paul said, clapping me on the back, "When?"

"Tonight at 7," I replied, smiling.

"Well, it's four," Paul said, "Whaddya want to do for the next two and a half hours?"

"Dude, I have to get ready!" I exclaimed.

"And do what? Change your shirt? Brush your hair? Jared, that'll take ten minutes. We can at least play some Call of Duty for the next two hours."

"Fine," I agreed; he was right, it wouldn't take me long to get ready at all. After we played Call of Duty for two hours (and I kicked his ass, I might add) Paul left, saying obnoxious shit like "use protection". The only thing worse than that was when I got a text from Emily saying "Don't be silly, wrap your willie!" I rolled my eyes and replied with, "very funny, Emily." I changed my shirt, ran a brush through my hair, and threw on some nice-ish sneakers. After spraying some cologne on, I headed over to her house.

We had a great date, and even fooled around a little bit when we got home. Of course, I wanted to go all of the way, but I knew that the timing wasn't right. I got her to talk about her past, which I knew was a painful subject for her. We fell asleep in each other's arms, and all I could think was how I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

When I woke up the next morning, Kim wasn't in the bed next to me. At first, I was scared that she had left. Then I fully woke up and smelled bacon. Climbing out of bed, I saw her setting a table outside, on the porch. The fact that she actually made breakfast for me made me smile. She came inside and saw me standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Sleep well?" she asked, smiling. She had changed into a pair of shorts and a long sleeved shirt, but her hair was still disheveled—she looked adorable.

"Better than ever," I replied, walking up to her and hugging her. We had agreed to date-I knew that this whole imprint thing wasn't easy, so I wanted to take it slow.

"I made you breakfast," she said, smiling, "I don't know what you like but I made pancakes and eggs…that's mostly all I could find at the La Push General Store."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," I told her, "Anything is fine. And I'm sure it'll be perfect." She blushed, grabbed my hand, and led me out onto the deck. She had everything set out for us: plates, silverware, food, the whole shebang. I sat down, and damn. The food was amazing. When I told her so, she denied it.

"Oh, I can't cook," she said, looking down at her lap. I grabbed her chin lightly and brought it up so that she was looking at me.

"Kimberley. This food was perfect. Thank you," I said firmly. She smiled, and I realized again how much I loved this girl.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey hi hello! Welcome to chapter five :) I'm honestly not sure if i have any readers anymore, since I'm only at 6 reviews. Buuuut, I write for fun not for the reviews. So I'm happy no matter what. Enjoy the chapter!**

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We spent the rest of the day talking, getting to know each other. I told him about my passion for cooking, and how I loved turning regular food into something healthy. He told me about his friends, and how I had to meet them sometime. After I cooked him dinner (meatloaf with salad and grilled vegetables) he told me that he had to go. So for the first time in 24 hours, I said goodbye to him…and the pain that occurred afterwards was almost unbearable. The pain that his absence caused me also confused me…I had known him for only a few days and yet I felt this bond with him…this need, this hunger, to be around him at all times. As the evening faded away and turned into night, I decided to curl up in bed and watch movies (I had my television plugged in so I could watch movies, but I didn't have cable) until I fell asleep. Jared had texted me at around 10, telling me to sleep well. Seeing his name on my phone gave me butterflies. As confused as I was about my feeling for him, I decided to just let everything happen the way it was meant to happen. Come what may. (Yes, I was watching Moulin Rouge…it's one of my favorite movies.)

I was woken up at around 2 by my phone ringing. I picked it up and answered groggily, not bothering to check to see who it was.

"Yes?" I asked, my voice making it obvious that I had been sleeping.

"Kim? Kim…are you there?" Rae asked frantically. The urgency in her voice made me sit up.

"Yes, I'm here…Rae, what's wrong?" I asked, worried, "It's almost 2 in the morning!"

"I-I-Todd and I got in a fight and I need to get away," she stammered, and I could tell that she had been crying.

"Rae, come up to La Push," I told her; there was no question. This was my best friend.

"T-Thank you," she said, "Kim…I'm sorry…I'm already on my way there…I'm in Oregon now."

"Honey, how long have you been driving?" I asked her.

"Only a few hours," she said, "We were staying with his cousins up in Shasta County…so I'm not far from the Oregon stateline."

"Oh, honey," I said soothingly, "Don't worry. I'll be here waiting."

"Thank you, Kim," Rae said, "I love you."

"I love you too, Rae," I told her. After we hung up, I stared at my phone. What could have happened between her and Todd that would cause her to leave so hastily? I jumped when I heard my phone go off again; this time, though, it was Jared.

"Jared?" I asked, confused; why was he calling me at 2 in the morning?

"Hey, Kim…I saw that your lights were on…everything okay?" Aww…he was so sweet.

"Well, my friend Rae called me," I said, "She got in a fight with her boyfriend and she's on her way up."

"Oh," he said, "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't think so," I said, "But if you're not doing anything you can come over. I'm going to stay up until she gets here."

"Of course, baby, I'll be right over." Literally twenty seconds later there was a knock at the door.

"That was fast," I remarked, as he pulled me into his arms.

"I was already up," he explained, "And when I saw your lights on I knew that either some was wrong or you were up waiting for me." He winked after he said the last part, and I laughed.

"A little bit of both, I guess," I told him, leaning up to kiss him.

"So do you know what's going on with your friend?" Jared asked me. I shook my head.

"No idea," I told him, "She's never really had problems like this before…something where she had to come see me. I mean, not since she was little and her dad was abusing her." I saw Jared's eyes widen in shock. "One of the reasons why Rae and I became friends is because we were the outcasts in high school. We were both abused by our parents in some way."

"Wait, I thought your parents just reflected their anger onto you?" Jared asked, shocked. I shook my head again-this, too, was hard to talk about it. Rae was the only one that knew this.

"No. My dad would hit me. I tried to confront him about him cheating, and he blew up. Said it was none of my business. He hit me, then told me that I should remember the pain; maybe that would stop me from ever bringing it up again."

"And did he hit you again?"

"Yeah," I said, "Numerous times. My face got bruised up pretty badly a few times." I noticed that Jared started to shake. I put my hand on his arm, and said soothingly, "Baby. It's fine, it's over now. I'm here…with you. It won't happen again."

"Damn right it won't," he said roughly, "If he ever lays a hand on you again…I'll…I'll.." I cut him off.

"Jared. Calm, please. It's over, I promise." He seemed to calm down a little, and I kissed him. As scary as his anger was, it was endearing in a way. It was nice to have someone actually care.

We spent the next few hours cuddling, kissing, and talking. Even though it was simple, it was one of our best moments together. So far, anyways. At around 5, I got a call from Rae, saying that she was almost to La Push. Jared decided to meet her at the border, just so she wouldn't get lost. When he left I got some blankets and pillows out and put them on the couch, in case Rae fell asleep. Besides, I figured that we would be having girl talk all night. I made some hot chocolate for her and I, since that was our comfort drink. Whenever something went wrong with either of us, we would always find ourselves drinking hot chocolate together.

About thirty minutes later, Jared came back with Rae. When I saw her car in the parking lot, I literally ran towards her, barefoot and in my PJs, trying not to scream. As it was, I squealed her name as I ran at her, literally attacking her with a hug. She laughed and hugged me back.

"I missed you," she told me, smiling. It was funny…in high school, I always stood out because of how I looked. I was dark skinned, tall, and lean. But here, Rae stood out. She was pale, had long black hair, and was short and thin. Unsurprisingly, she had dyed the bottom layer of her hair purple, which she had always done randomly since she was able to dye her hair. We were the oddest pair of best friends I had ever seen, and yet we went together perfectly.

"Oh, Rae, I missed you too. So much," I told her. She grabbed a duffel bag out of her car and followed me inside. When we got to the porch, I turned around and saw Jared by the cars. "Babe, you coming?" I asked him, smiling.

"I don't want to intrude," he told me, looking sad.

"Honey, you're not intruding. Come inside."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Jared. You're not intruding. Now get your ass inside because it's cold out here!" Rae yelled. I laughed; that's the best friend I know and love.


End file.
